Method and apparatus for persistent communications, interoperability and situational awareness in the aftermath of a disaster

ABSTRACT

A system for providing situational awareness outside a temporary incident area network includes a prioritized connection module for connecting a mesh network at the incident area to one of a plurality of available communications channels, with the selection based not only on the availability of a communications channel but also on the associated expense, speed, reliability or bandwidth, so that high bandwidth traffic such as video and pictures can be reliably sent from the incident area to a location outside of the incident area. In one embodiment switching to a satellite phone network bypasses problems with terrestrial networks such as cell phone networks and landlines which may be down.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims rights under 35 USC .sctn. 119(e) from U.S.application Ser. No. 10/585,148 filed Nov. 10, 2005, U.S. applicationSer. No. 12/423,062, filed Apr. 14, 2009, U.S. application Ser. No.10/943,323, filed Sep. 17, 2004, U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/626,570filed Nov. 10, 2004, and Ser. No. 60/575,774 filed May 28, 2004, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to interoperable communications in the aftermathof disaster and more particularly to the provision of persistentcommunications when traditional communication links are down.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As exemplified by the response to hurricane Katrina, one of the majordownfalls of the response to the disaster was the inability of variousrescue units to be able to communicate with each other due to differingequipment, differing frequencies, differing modulation modes anddiffering data inputs, making communication amongst operational units orthe first responders exceedingly difficult if not outright impossible.

As described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/943,232 an adhocemergency interoperability communication network is established byproviding universal temporary incident area network modules thatcommunicate with each other on a network using a common frequency andmodulation format, such as provided by 802.11. In one embodiment of thesystem, the adhoc network is established when vehicles containing thetemporary incident area network modules are within range of each other.The temporary incident area network modules are such as to have an RF orother connection with handheld or in vehicle communication devices ofwhatever variety that have standardized voice, data and push-to-talkchannels. Upon receipt of a transmission from the standard transceiver,the signals are converted to the common network frequency and format andtransmitted around the network. The system thus allows communicationsamongst the responders to an incident without having to set uppre-arranged protocols, equipment compatibility, or equipmentaddressing. Moreover, command and control structure can be achievedthrough a commander having access through his own temporary incidentarea network module at a node on the network to be able to route andcontrol the flow of information over the network. This network isreferred to herein as a mesh network.

The problem however occurs when those within the temporary incident areanetwork cannot communicate outside of the network. Thus, the ability toobtain material and personnel from locations outside the temporaryincident area network are severely limited in the case where towers aredown, where there are no base stations in the area and where there is nopower available to sustain radio communications. Thus, it is impossiblefor those within the temporary incident area network to communicateoutside the network. As a result, their needs and requirements are notcommunicated to the outside world.

As in hurricane Katrina, when people are stranded because they don'thave communications or when supplies exist but requirement for them isunknown, it is important to be able to communicate data back to alocation where an entity can use that information to make decisions andprovide the requisite aid.

In hurricane Katrina, almost all of the cell towers were down because oflack of emergency generators or where batteries finally failed. Alsothere was no proximity of wi-fi hotspots with which those having powerto their computers could communicate. Moreover, point-to-pointcommunications from the modules was limited in range to, for instanceone or two miles so that assistance outside the temporary incident areanetwork could not be made available.

In short, better information would have been an optimal weapon, withinformation being sent to the right people at the right place at theright time. In order to provide an optimal response, it is importantthat information be moved within agencies, cross departments and betweenjurisdictions of the government, seamlessly, securely and efficiently.

As documented in the “A Failure of Initiative” report drafted by theU.S. House of Representatives after hurricane Katrina, large scalecatastrophes can overwhelm and temporarily disable communicationsystems, affecting first responders' abilities to make and executecritical decisions. While the aforementioned interoperability systemprovides a proven wireless network solution that operates completelyindependent of existing communications infrastructure to provide voiceinteroperability, there is a necessity to expand the reach of such asystem to those beyond the temporary incident area network.

As will be appreciated, the aforementioned interoperability systemprovides immediate voice interoperability, a critical need to ensuresuccessful command and control at a disaster. The nodes in the systemallow for flexibility and adaptability as the disaster response grows.However, voice operability requires an expanded capability to firstresponders so as to not only provide voice interoperability amongdisparate radio types and frequencies and a secure transmission over amesh network, connectivity needs to be provided outside the affectedregion both incoming and out going. This connectivity needs to includenot only voice, but also data and internet access. Moreover, situationalawareness capabilities need to be provided to the outside world usingGPS and GIS mapping data. It is also desirable to provide video and datasharing to those outside the mesh network, as well as automated widearea network management. Also, when data includes wireless RFidentification technology for patient triaging, the information must betransmitted beyond the mesh network. Key to all of the above is to beable to provide sustained system runtimes via power sources from commondevices.

It is to be noted that incident commanders do not have the time to worryabout technical issues concerning mesh networks, specifically bandwidthsaturation. Aided by GPS location of apparatus and access pointconfiguration settings, it is important to provide a system to provideautomatic dynamic reconfiguration of access point channel allocation.This automatic system requires that there is no interaction on behalf offirst responders to maintain network integrity.

In short, there needs to be connectivity with the interact and othercommunications networks when wi-fi channels do not exist, wherelandlines are inoperative, where 900 megahertz communication is out ofrange and when cellular communication is not possible, either due tolack of working towers or lack of cellular coverage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to provide communication or connectivity outside of thetemporary incident area network, a prioritized connection module isconnected to a node of the network which assesses the connectivity tothe Internet based on available wi-fi, landline, 900 megahertz, cellularand SATphone availability. Based on a requirement to communicate withthe outside world, the prioritized connection nodule first ascertainswhat communication channels are available and then selects the mostrobust communication channel and connects to it, such that the temporaryincident area network is connected through prioritized connection moduleto the available communications channel that is up and running. Due tothe cost of various of the communications channels, it is part of thesubject invention that the prioritized connection module ascertains theleast expensive, reliable communication channel available to thetemporary incident area network.

In one embodiment, the prioritized connection module may be providedusing the pTerex mobile Tactical Edge Network (MTEN) product thatautomatically detects and connects to any available uplink source suchas Ethernet, serial, wireless, cellular or satellite services, andprovides connectivity beyond the affected region. If an uplink sourcefails, then the mobile tactical edge network switches to the next bestactive connection, ensuring constant communication.

Moreover, the temporary incident area network is provided with modulesto provide not only voice communication but also video and data, withwireless RFID technology providing first responders with medical data totrack and monitor patient status locally with the data beingcommunicated to the incident commander and surrounding hospitals.Moreover, an airwave management platform is provided as a networkmanagement tool to allow for the ability to monitor and configurewireless networks. This performs critical management tasks includingdevice recovery, configuration management, monitoring, alerting anddiagnostics by providing prioritization and control of the mesh networkat the incident scene.

Moreover, since power grids and radio communications infrastructure maybe damaged and unavailable, providing long term power to the modulesassociated with the temporary incident area network is extremelyimportant. The subject system therefore incorporates automatic powermanagement features and provides access to alternative power sourcessuch as portable gas generators, existing wall sockets, vehiclecigarette lighters, portable power sources, batteries from abandonedvehicles and alternative energy sources.

In summary, a prioritized connection module provides bi-directionalconnectivity outside the mesh network over available communicationchannels, in which the availability of a communication channel is sensedand in which the temporary incident area network is coupled to theavailable channel in a prioritized fashion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the subject invention will be betterunderstood in connection with the Detailed Description and inconjunction with the Drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the subject fail safecommunications system involving the use of a prioritized connectionmodule, and;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart for the operation of the prioritized connectionmodule of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following hypothetical disaster is used to describe how temporaryincident area network modules and systems are to be augmented.

Considering for the moment a scenario in which a casino is bombed in aterrorist attack. Communication infrastructures are destroyed. Afterseeing smoke, not being dispatched and knowing a catastrophic event hasjust occurred, local emergency personnel respond. Upon approaching thescene, the first responders establish a hot zone perimeter, knowing thatthe area could be contaminated by hazardous material. Due to roaddestruction in the immediate area, three separate fire departmentofficers start establishing command posts. Utilizing the above mentionedsystem, each commander establishes a bi-directional link to dispatch andprovide interoperability between each command post. Additional resourcesare requested to the scene, including National Guard, hazardous materialteams, USART teams, ambulances from the tri-state area and militaryresources. The senior officer of the three command posts assumes overallincident command.

As local towns provide emergency responders including fire, lawenforcement, emergency management and EMS personnel, theinteroperability system provides interoperability across allfrequencies. Using the NIMS structure, staff positions are assigned.Talk group software is utilized to isolate communications betweensectors. Staging officers are placed on each access road to coordinateincoming responders. Using GPS/GIS mapping capabilities, the localincident commander directs law enforcement vehicles around the incidentto establish a complete wireless mesh network so that all scenepersonnel are now connected to the mesh network to communicate. As notedabove, the mesh network is the temporary incident area network describedin the patent application Ser. No. 10/943,323.

Bi-directional link capabilities are reserved for passing situationalawareness data and communicating with off-scene assets. As each unitarrives on scene, a database is populated in terms of frequency,apparatus type, man power, pump and water capability, which can beutilized by all staff officers to allocate resources.

Walking wounded arrive at the edges of the hot zone. Properde-contamination stations are established and patients arc tagged usingthe subject system. All patient information is passed via the meshnetwork to populate a database with appropriate information includingtriage level, name of a patient and location. The medical officerestablishes communications with local hospitals via the subject systemand transmits patient data and coordinates transport based upon hospitalfeedback. This database, accessible by external command and controlpersonnel, remains updated with patient information for contactingfamilies of deceased and injured.

The incident commander uses the subject system to uplink criticalinformation to an off-scene command post. Upon arrival at the scene, thestate hazmat team automatically enters the mesh zone and has access tothis information via laptop. The hazmat team enters the hot zoneequipped with video cameras, air quality testing and chemical analysisequipment. All the data from this equipment is relayed back to theincident commander via the mesh network and is passed on to the commandpost established outside the affected region.

Central to this capability, is the capability to communicate with thecommand post outside the affected region.

The modules associated with the temporary incident area network areprovided with vehicle chassis assemblies (VCA) that are poled for RFenergy, GPS location and access point configuration. The bandwidth iscontinually monitored and the access point configurations aredynamically changed to ensure the health of the mesh network, withautomatic network management being transparent to the incidentcommander.

As National Guard and military resources arrive on scene, unifiedcommand structure is established. MERS vehicles with onboardcommunication systems arrive on scene. As these vehicles arrive on-scenethey start to assume responsibility for voice interoperability. Becauseof the magnitude of the response, all frequencies are not able to bepatched together by the MERS vehicles. However, the subject systemcontinues to provide integrated voice interoperability and talk groupsare established to eliminate interference between the two communicationsinteroperability solutions. Situational awareness continues to beprovided by the subject system through its mesh network, which is passedinto the MERS vehicle network.

Throughout the response of this disaster, the subject systemcontemplates utilizing alternate power sources while apparatus awaitsrefueling from incoming fuel tanks. The mesh network retains itsintegrity for the entire relief and reconstruction efforts of criticalinfrastructure. As federal and state resources are secured, voiceinteroperability is provided by the subject system to remaining firstresponders until such time as the emergency response is complete.

Having described the above scenario, it is incumbent upon the subjectsystem to provide connectivity between the mesh network or temporaryincident area network and the internet and other communications channelsto establish communications with regions beyond the affected area. Theconnectivity is provided through a prioritized connection which couplesvoice and data as well as video and pictures from the mesh network,either through the internet or to other communication facilities, tosites outside the immediate incident area. This is done by sensing whatcommunication channels are available and then switching the voice, data,video or pictures from the incident area network to the availablecommunications channel.

It is part and parcel of the subject invention that the prioritizedconnection module be able to sense what channels are down and whatchannels are up; and then automatically route communications from theincident area network to locations outside of the incident area networklocation, most notably by accessing the internet and addressingcommunications to the appropriate server.

With all cell towers down due to power failures or with wirelesscoverage limited, as a last resort, the prioritized, connection modulesconnect the communications from the incident area network to a SAT phonefor relay by satellite to the internet, and this to the intendedoff-scene destination.

As will be appreciated, the subject system is exceptionally useful whentechnological complexity renders the communication usable by respondersduring a crisis. Moreover, the subject system solves the challenge ofautomated realtime bandwidth management and can be used to develop anintegrated fuel/power management scheme to conserve precious resources.Moreover, the dependence on cellular networks which may lack power orsufficient bandwidth of an event may be bypassed.

Additionally, dependence on radio tower infrastructure is avoided by asystem which operates independently from existing infrastructure.

It is also noted that expansion of a small incident network to wide areadisaster response can result in unacceptable network performance. Thisis solved by the subject system by intelligently selectingcommunications channels that can handle the increased load.

Finally, the subject system permits integration of high volume 802.11wireless data traffic into existing mesh networks without degradingrealtime voice communications.

More particularly and referring now to FIG. 1, a temporary area incidentnetwork 10 involving a wireless mesh network is populated in oneembodiment with vehicle chassis assemblies 12, here labeled VCA.sub.1,VCA.sub.2, and VCA.sub.3 which refers not only to the modularcommunication units in a vehicle but also to handheld units. Asillustrated, various other inputs to the VCAs, other than voicecommunications, can he for instance those from a traditional camera 14or can be from an IP camera 16. Also as illustrated at 18, data of anytype, be it from sensors and the like, may be inputted to a vehiclechassis assembly, via wired or wireless connection, with the suit beingthat voice data, video or pictures as illustrated by double-ended arrow20 may be coupled to a prioritized connection module 22, herein labeledVCA300.

It is the purpose of this prioritized connection module to sense whichof a number of communications channels is available and to steer thedata from the wireless mesh network at the incident area to one or moreof the available communications channels.

In one embodiment these communications channels include a cell phonechannel at 24, a 900 megahertz channel at 26, a landline channel at 28and a WIFI 802.11 channel 30. All of channels 24-30 may be connected tothe internet 32 which communicates information from the incident area tothe outside world.

Also indicated is a satellite phone 34 which communicates with asatellite 36 that downloads and uploads data to internet 32, such thatdata derived from the incident area is available or to other networksoutside the incident area.

As illustrated, not only can voice data and pictures and the like becommunicated from the vehicle chassis assemblies, digital data can becoupled to and from the prioritized connection module 22. As a result,laptop 40 and camera 42 may be coupled to the prioritized connectionmodules and through a wireless connection as illustrated by double-endedarrow 44. In one embodiment this connection may be a 900 megahertzconnection.

In one embodiment, all of the VCAs are linked to the prioritizedconnection module via an RE link as mentioned above. Also, other datacan be wirelessly linked to the prioritized connection module 22.

In operation, it is the function of the prioritized connection module 22to sense which of the communications channels 24-30 are open, andmoreover to ascertain the cost of communicating over a particular openchannel. The purpose of the prioritized connection in this case is toestablish which of the open communication channels is available and tomake the connection to that communications channel which is the least:expensive. Alternatively, the connection can be made to the channel thatis the most robust.

Assuming that for instance landlines are down, that the cell phonetowers are without power and therefore down, that 900 megahertzcommunication is impossible due to range constants and that the WIFIconnection is either inoperative or out of range, then the prioritizedconnection module 22 connects the voice data, video or pictures to thesatellite communications channel through satellite phone 34.

What will be appreciated is that when all else fails, while thesatellite communications channel is potentially the most expensive, itcan be used to provide information about the incident scene to those notwithin the incident area.

Oftentimes in a disaster and as mentioned before, most if not allcommunications channels will be down and critical information cannot hetransmitted from the wireless mesh network to for instance facilitiesoutside of the immediate area.

The subject system is a fail-safe system which ensures that criticalinformation is transmittable outside of the wireless mesh network overthe least expensive channel in one embodiment, or over the most robustchannel in another embodiment.

As mentioned above, it is often the case that power to the unitsassociated with the wireless mesh network is not available. For the mostpart these units are battery-powered and the longevity of the batteriesassociated with these units is somewhat limited.

It has been found that when arriving at a incident scene, power can becannibalized for instance by attaching jumper cables to batteries incars that may be in the area. This is referred to herein as cannibalizedpower and is illustrated at 50. This power can also come for instancefrom generators that are usable at the scene, or may be derived fromthose power lines that are still up and running.

Thus, one of the purposes of the subject invention is to be able tocannibalize power wherever it is available within the incident area andto power the modules associated with the wireless mesh network or theprioritized connection module, so that critical information from theincident scene can be transmitted to authorities removed from the scene.

While it has been found in recent disaster relief efforts that landlinesare down and that WIFI connections and 900 megahertz connections do nothave sufficient range; and further that cell towers may be down for lackof power, the only reliable communications is via, satellitecommunications which does not require the aforementioned infrastructureto be in place and working. Thus, the prioritized connection module as abackstop can channel the communications to a SATphone which can relaythe information through the associated satellite to incident commandersthat are not within the incident area.

What is now described is the operation of the prioritized connectionmodule 22.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it is the purpose of the subject invention totake a commercial off-the-shelf module which routes information and datato one of a number of communications channels and to provide that devicewith a prioritization schedule so that the module not only detects whena communications channel is available but also routes the informationfrom a wireless mesh network to a desired communications channel basedon a prioritization scheme.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the first step is to configure a prioritizedconnection module to assign different ports to different communicationschannels. These channels could for instance be a cell phone channel, a900 megahertz channel, a landline channel, a WIFI channel or a satellitephone channel.

When all else falls in terms of terrestrial communications such as WIFI,landline, 900 megahertz and cell phone communications, it is desirableto be able to take the data off the wireless mesh network and port itdirectly to a satellite phone network so that situational awareness canbe made available to those outside the incident area regardless of theinoperable terrestrial equipment. The connection from the prioritizedconnection module through the satellite telephone and the satellitenetwork to the internet permits instant communications, both indownloading and uploading information from the wireless mesh network toa point or position remote from the incident area.

As can be seen at 52, one can assign priorities to the ports relating toa characteristic of an associated communications channel whichcharacteristics include for instance the expense involved in utilizingthe channel, the speed of the channel, the robustness of the channel,the bandwidth of the channel or the reliability of the channel.

It is well understood that satellite communications is the mostexpensive method of communication and due to limited budgets it isuseful that one can ascertain which of the terrestrial basedcommunications channels are available and the cost thereof so that thedata on the wireless mesh network may be ported to the least expensiveyet reliable communications channel, exclusive of satellitecommunications.

As can be seen at 54, one connects the prioritized connection module toa mesh network and then as shown at 56 based on availability and trafficon the mesh network one connects the data on the mesh network to a portbased on channel expense, channel reliability or channelthroughput/bandwidth.

In order to be able to make these selections it is important to be ableto know the traffic that exists on the wireless mesh network so that forinstance high bandwidth communications such as video and pictures can berouted to a communications channel that has the required bandwidth aswell as reliability. Voice on the other hand occupies less bandwidth asdo some data communications generated on seen as for instance by anotebook or other computer device at the incident area scene.

Thus, while commercially available routers do in fact detectavailability of communications channels, it is a property of the subjectinvention to be able to select from the available channels a channelwhich is most suitable. The most suitable channel can in some instancesbe the least expensive channel or can for instance be the channel thatis most robust or reliable. When all else fails, meaning that theterrestrially-based systems are all out, one can route the informationfrom the wireless mesh network to the satellite phone which does notrely on terrestrially-based equipment to provide conductivity.

As a result of the utilization of the prioritized connection module onecan create situational awareness not only in terms of voice but also interms of high bandwidth video, picture and sensor data that is availableby the interoperable modules that operate on the wireless mesh network,but also can be obtained by directly coupling video, picture or sensordata to the prioritized connection module itself.

While the present invention has been described in connection with thepreferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understoodthat other similar embodiments may be used or modifications or additionsmay be made to the described embodiment for performing the same functionof the present invention without deviating therefrom. Therefore, thepresent invention should not he limited to any single embodiment, butrather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the recitationof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for providing situational awareness fromthe scene of an incident in which interoperable temporary incident areanetwork modules on a wireless mesh network are used to providecommunication between the network modules in the incident area andlocations outside of incident area, comprising: a prioritized connectionmodule coupled to said wireless mesh network for connecting informationfrom said wireless mesh network to locations outside of said incidentarea, said prioritized connection module including a switching systemfor connecting said information to available communications channels andin which said system is prioritized based on channel availability,bandwidth of the channel, bandwidth requirement of data to betransmitted and knowledge of the traffic on said wireless mesh network;and an automatic power management feature for providing access to aplurality of alternative power sources to power the network modules. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein said prioritized connection moduleincludes a number of ports, one each dedicated to a differentcommercial, military or private channel and which said switching systemswitches said information to one of said communications channels basedon one of expense, speed, robustness, bandwidth or reliability of a saidchannel.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the information transmittedfrom said wireless mesh network to said prioritized connection moduleincludes at least one of voice communication, video images, pictures,graphics, signal data and sensor data and any combination thereof. 4.The system of claim 1, wherein said wireless mesh network includes anumber of interoperable communication modules and wherein at least someof said interoperable modules or said prioritized connection module arebattery-operated, and wherein the automatic power management feature isan emergency power transfer unit at a module for cannibalizing poweravailable at said incident area to power said battery-operated modules,whereby situational awareness is achieved in spite of battery life. 5.The system of claim 1, wherein said prioritized connection modulefunctions to import and export data to and from said incident area scenebetween said incident area scene and locations outside of said incidentarea scene, thereby to provide situational awareness to individuals orsystems remote from said incident scene.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein said prioritized, connection module detects the availability ofsaid communications channels.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein saidcommunications channels include one of a WIFI network, a landlinenetwork, a 900 megahertz network, a cell phone network, and a satellitephone network or any other communications medium capable of transmittingdigital data.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein said satellitecommunications network is selected to obviate problems with terrestrialcommunications systems.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein saidprioritized connection module selects the available communicationschannel that is the least expensive.
 10. The system of claim 7, whereinsaid prioritized connection module selects the available communicationschannel having the most robust and reliable throughput.
 11. The systemof claim 7, wherein said prioritized connection module selects theavailable communications channel having the most reliable connectioncharacteristic.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein said alternativepower sources comprise of portable gas generators, existing wallsockets, vehicle cigarette lighters, portable power sources, andbatteries from abandoned vehicles.
 13. A method for establishingsituational awareness outside a wireless mesh network at the area of anincident to a location outside of said incident area, comprising:detecting one or more communications channels for determining one ormore available channels and determining the capacity and reliability ofthe one or more available channels; switching data from the wirelessmesh network to a prioritized connection amongst the one or moreavailable channels based on channel availability, knowledge of thetraffic on said wireless mesh network and at least one of communicationchannel expense, speed, robustness, reliability, bandwidth of thechannel, bandwidth requirement of data to be transmitted; andcannibalizing power at the incident area to provide access toalternative power sources to power one or more network modules of thewireless mesh network.
 14. The method of claim 13, and further includingmaking the prioritized connection based on traffic on the mesh network.15. The method of claim 13, wherein the information on the mesh networkincludes at least one of video information, picture information, voiceinformation, data or sensor information.
 16. The method of claim 13,wherein the wireless mesh network includes a number of interoperablecommunications modules and wherein at least some of the interoperablemodules or the prioritized connection module are battery-operated andfurther including cannibalizing power at the incident area to power saidbattery-powered modules, whereby situational awareness is achieved inspite of battery life.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein saidalternative power sources comprise of portable gas generators, existingwall sockets, vehicle cigarette lighters, portable power sources, andbatteries from abandoned vehicles.
 18. A system for providingsituational awareness from an incident area based on communicationbetween interoperable communications modules on a wireless mesh network,comprising: a prioritized connection module connected to said wirelessmesh network for determining availability of a terrestrially-basedcommunication channel, wherein said prioritized connection moduleincludes a switching system for connecting situational awarenessinformation to available terrestrially-based communication channel andin which said system is prioritized based on channel availability,bandwidth of the channel, bandwidth requirement of data to betransmitted and knowledge of the traffic on said wireless mesh network;the prioritized connection module for switching information from saidwireless network to a satellite phone system in the absence ofavailability of a terrestrially-based communication channel, wherebysaid satellite phone system is operable to import and export data fromand to said wireless mesh network at said incident area to and from alocation remote to said incident area, thus to provide situationalawareness outside of said incident area; and an automatic powermanagement feature for providing access to a plurality of alternativepower sources to power the network modules.
 19. The system of claim 18,wherein where terrestrially-based communications channels are available,said terrestrially-based communications channels are evaluated based oncost of communication there through; and whereby said prioritizedconnection module selects a communication channel other than thatprovided by said satellite phone and based on cost considerationsrelated to a communication channel.
 20. The system of claim 18, whereinsaid alternative power sources comprise of portable gas generators,existing wall sockets, vehicle cigarette lighters, portable powersources, and batteries from abandoned vehicles.